Registered Joplin voters at the general municipal election on April 8, 2014, will have several issues to decide. The ballot contains three city charter amendments, an advisory vote on a citywide residential curbside recycling program, and the city council election of five seats.

The City Charter amendments that are being posed are:

Amendment 02 - “Shall Section 2.02 of the Charter of the City Joplin, Missouri, be amended to reduce the time a person must be a resident of the City from four (4) years to two (2) years in order to qualify for election to the Joplin City Council and further amended to require that a person be a registered voter for two (2) years immediately prior to election to the Joplin City Council.”

Amendment 03 - “Shall Section 2.03 of the Charter of the City Joplin, Missouri, be amended to establish a salary of one hundred dollars per month for each council member while serving on the Joplin City Council?”

Amendment 04 - “Shall Section 7.01 and Section 7.02 of the Charter of the City Joplin, Missouri, be amended to remove the requirement that the public works director be a registered engineer and identifying the position responsible to become the city engineer in the event the public works director is not a registered engineer?”

Voters will mark either Yes or No on each individual amendment. If receiving a majority vote (51% of the voters) in favor, the charter amendments relating to residency and the public works director qualification would take effect immediately. The charter amendment regarding a salary payment to the city council would not take effect until April 12, 2016, to avoid a constitutional conflict.

Citizens are asked to vote on Proposition A, “Shall the City of Joplin, Missouri, institute a residential curbside recycling program as provided in Ordinance Number 2013-147 passed by the Council of the City of Joplin, Missouri on the 17th of June, 2013?” However, the vote will not bind the city council to institute such a program. It is merely an indication of voters' wishes to do so.

There are also five Council seats up for election, including three general seats and Zone One and Zone Four seats. The nine candidates who have filed for these positions are: Zone One: Incumbent Gary Shaw (unopposed), Zone Four: Incumbent Jack Golden (currently holds a general seat) or incumbent Mike Seibert. Candidates for three general council seats include incumbent Trisha Raney, Jim West, Harvey Hutchinson, Miranda Lewis, Ryan Stanley and incumbent Mike Woolston.

If needing information about polling locations, voters should contact the Jasper County Clerk at (417) 625-4307.